Why in the thousands of years of Chinese culture, has always been predominantly earth burial, cremation is rarely even mentioned in the history books.

Burial, one of the burial styles. Also known as burial . Popular in all parts of the world. It arose around the middle of the Paleolithic period. In Western Europe, Mousterian burials are the earliest known earth burials. Primitive commune period, each clan has a fixed cemetery. In slave and feudal societies, families (clans) also had fixed burial grounds. Earthen tombs generally buried one body, but there were also several people or clans (families) buried together. Most of the burial chambers had coffins of different textures and martyred objects. In the class society, the burials of the ruling class were rich in martyrs, and even people were martyred. With the development of society, earth burials have evolved into many forms. The main forms of earth burials in China are: vertical cave tombs (midden tombs), which have been popular in the late Paleolithic period; large stone tombs and urn coffins, which were popular from the Neolithic period to the Han Dynasty; sarcophagus burials and masonry tombs, which have been popular since the Warring States period; cave tombs, which began during the Warring States period and were popular in the Sixth Dynasty and into the Sui and Tang dynasties; wooden-coffin tombs, which began in the Shang Dynasty and were rare after the Han Dynasty; and boat-coffin burials, which were prevalent in the area of Sichuan from the end of the Warring States period to the beginning of the Han Dynasty.

The origin of earth burials

Earth burials originated in primitive societies, where they were practiced, such as the Half Slope civilization, and later the Xia and Yin dynasties.

History of earth burial

Earth burial was given at the end of primitive society, and after entering the class society, there was a clear hierarchical difference between the inferior and the superior. To the Qin and Han Dynasties, the rulers of the "body hair and skin, by the parents, do not dare to destroy" for the same, forbidding the people to cremation, so earth burial became the Han people's common burial, and has been inherited from generation to generation. The custom of earth burial is practiced in most areas, but in some areas and ethnic groups also practiced secondary burial or multiple reburials. China's burial in different ethnic groups and different historical periods of the form of the characteristics of the difference, but the basic concept is the same, that is, that the dead should be preserved intact body, "into the ground for peace", so the custom of burial, long-term inherited. In individual ethnic minorities, there are also regarded as the worst burial, such as the Tibetan folk cremation, sky burial, water burial, while suffering from leprosy, smallpox and other infectious diseases, or robbers and tortured to death of prisoners with burial, that can eradicate the plague epidemic and punish the evil, and hit the hell, shall not be reborn. The custom of earth burial, labor and waste of money, indiscriminate occupation of arable land, infectious diseases, so after the establishment of new China has been gradually replaced by cremation, but so far in the remote rural areas still have remnants.

Why some ethnic groups prefer earth burial

The reasons why most ethnic groups in China, especially the Han Chinese, attach importance to earth burial are manifold.

1, with the living natural environment. The vast areas of China's central plains, fertile land, agricultural civilization for a long time, the people have been mainly agricultural, depending on the land as the basis of life (land is alive, no land is dead), they believe that after death is buried in the earth, is the soul to rest in peace, the so-called "people and the earth for the peace of the Han people's beliefs, the impact of the deepest.

2. Burial in the earth is in line with the living habits of the Han people and the ethical feelings of caution. The concept of "life comes from the soil and goes back to the soil" is y rooted. The Han people worship yellow, successive emperors used yellow as the color of nobility, yellow is actually the color of the earth, in the five elements of yin and yang, "earth" is in the middle, is the most stable and reliable foundation, so the earth burials in line with the Han people's customs and traditional concepts of life.

3. For the feudal system, earth burial is the best way to show the difference between classes and hierarchies. Only earth burial can preserve the power and status of the deceased for a long time, such as the majestic tomb, all kinds of tombstones, stone people, stone animals and other ancillary buildings. Only earth burials can often carry out a variety of symbolic activities in front of the tomb, expressed the living to the deceased's memorial feelings, but also shows the luxury of the row and to meet the needs of patriarchal politics.

The formation of earth burial

The formation of earth burial customs, with the people's concept has a close relationship. They believe that the dead people earth is the inevitable destination of people, the "Zhouli" said "all living beings must die, death must return to the earth", "Han to be out of the country" said "people die that ghosts, ghosts return to also, the essence of the return to the sky, the meat to the ground." Rites of Passage" also said: "the soul returns to the sky, the form of the spirit returns to the ground. -The above can be seen, the ancients believe that after the death of the body buried in the ground, the soul can be separated from the body of the soul to the sky. There is a close connection between earth burial and the concept of ghosts. From the Paleolithic era to modern times, when people bury the dead, they have to bury a large number of items for them, including various utensils, food, decorations, etc., in order to let the soul of the dead live a better life in the other world

Etiquette of Earth Burial

Ethnicity of Earth Burial is cumbersome and complex, which is one of the most important features of the earth burial. In the ancient times, people's funeral was extremely simple, not set up a grave, there is no rituals and sacrifices, after entering the class society, to adapt to the needs of the ruling class and the idea of rituals, the way of burial is more and more complicated; superstitious concepts are increasingly thick, in the world formed a unique funeral rituals of earth burial. Requirements for "burial with rituals, sacrifices with rituals", "coffins and outer coffins must be heavy, food and clothing must be more, the text embroidery must be complicated, qulong must be huge" and "the body hair and skin, received by parents, do not dare to destroy". This traditional funeral concepts still have a certain impact on people, and become a major psychological and ideological obstacles to the implementation of funeral reform.